Building skills for Canada's bio-economy

Career Tools

Foreign Professionals Labour Market Report 2013

Talent Opportunities

Bringing Newcomers to Canada’s Bio-economy

A companion report to Sequencing the Data

Pathways to scientific discovery are paved with the ideas, collaboration and brainpower of people from Canada and around the world. However, there are challenges for Canadian biotech employers. According to Sequencing the Data 33.3% of bioeconomy employers report skills shortages and 20% are reporting job vacancies in their companies and many workers are soon to retire. There is insufficient domestic talent available to fill these shortages and this report Talent Opportunities – Bringing Newcomers to Canada’s Bio-economy indicates an underemployed pool of internationally educated professionals (IEPs) in Canada. Tapping into this non-traditional talent source is an opportunity for Canada’s biotech industry, especially with 51.8% of employers reporting that hiring IEPs improves innovation. But there are also challenges for newcomers finding work in Canada’s bio-economy.

BioTalent Canada surveyed IEPs with science backgrounds, immigrant serving agencies (ISAs) and post-secondary institutions across Canada to understand the services available to IEPs and the challenges they face when integrating into the sector. This companion report summarizes these challenges and highlights the differences between the industry findings6 and what IEPs are experiencing. These gaps represent opportunities for internationally educated professionals (IEPs), biotech employers, BioTalent Canada partners, immigration serving agencies, governments (municipal, provincial, and federal) and post-secondary institutions.

The findings of this report will help with the integration of IEPs into the Canadian biotech workforce – a vital piece towards the long-term success of a dynamic industry.